


Torn

by The_Glittery_Hedgehog_Ninja



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship/Love, Love Triangles, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:28:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7586947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Glittery_Hedgehog_Ninja/pseuds/The_Glittery_Hedgehog_Ninja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One guy's hot. The other guy's kind. One guy knows all her secrets. The other? Well, he's just trying to figure her out. One's an ex-boyfriend demon hellbent on getting her back, even if he has to change. The other's her best friend and knows her better her better than anyone. Star Butterfly's torn—between Tom and Marco, and secretly falling apart. </p><p>Short chapters—long story.  Slow Burn.</p><p>Both Starco and Tomstar/Starom/Startom will be given equal chances to shine in this story, so don't worry about missing out on your preferred ship.</p><p>Also on Wattpad and FanFiction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Starship Dreams | Tom

**Author's Note:**

> This story will be told through longer drabbles and will feature the point of views of Tom, Star, and Marco. I will give both ships—Startom/Starom/Tomstar and Starco equal chances to shine in this fic. If you enjoyed it, please review and/or favorite/follow.
> 
> I do not own Star Vs. The Forces of Evil.

Tom ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he paced in front of his demon horde.  He let out a low growl.

 _Nothing was working_!

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

And worst of all, it was mostly his fault.

He'd hatched countless plots to try and get back together with Star . . . but there was nothing to show for it.

No calls, no kisses, no dates, no hand holding.

Nothing.

She hadn't even _paged_ him.  He'd gone through a lot of work and bought a stupid human pager to see if she would, but the primitive machine never uttered a single beep.

But, let's step away from his fruitless ploys and go back to narrating why this indeed, was his fault.

You see, Tom never _actually_ put any of his ingenious schemes into action.  No, it wasn't because he was a _coward_ —he was a freaking demon after all, with horns and everything (not that he was the only one)!

It was just that . . . nothing felt right.

His nefariously clever idea to cover that meddling Marco in glittery body paint and raccoon blood—which his Starship was allergic to?  Everything was set for it to go, but at the last moment, he'd backed out.  He wanted Star to fall in love with him, not send her to a hospital.

And his brilliant scheme to expose all of Marco's deepest secrets (especially the really bad and embarrassing ones—the ones that would shoo Star away within a few hummingbird heartbeats and make Marco want to impale himself) using a MindreadeR2200 from the galaxy of Pewni?

Yeah, not only was it hard to get the device, but Tom decided not to go with it—mainly because he knew Marco wasn't _all_ that horrible enough to deserve it, and because . . . well, he knew that Star would be horrified to learn that her best friend had committed suicide.

Maybe that would bring her running back into his open arms for sympathy (or for homicide if she ever found out that he'd been the one to order the mindreader), but for all the wrong reasons.

He wanted Star to fall in love with _him_.

He didn't want to be her rebound guy.

Tom's little talk with Marco when he was holding him captive for finding out about Mr. Candle and his other plot—which he had actually put into action this time! (counseling Star to give up Marco—what a genius idea!)—had really enlightened him.

He _had_ been ignoring Star's feelings, and well, he knew how Star felt about that—he had the bruise to prove it.

Perhaps now he'd try a different tactic.

Oh no, his Starship would still fall for him.

But she'd fall for him _her_ way.

Tom stepped away from his horde and turned towards a handheld Interdimensional Mirror that had been lying haphazardly on one of the demonically ornate side tables.

He stared through the reflective screen at his devilishly handsome face for a long moment, before taking a deep breath.

He was going to prove that he'd changed, _really_ this time—and still, woo Star. Marco?  As long as things between him and Star remained platonic, he couldn't care less as to what happened to him.

Tom smiled ever so slightly, a drastic change from his usual smirk.

Mustering up a small ounce of poorly placed, narcissistic courage, he gave the mirror his command.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall—no, wait, this is a _hand_ mirror—and ugh, there's a crack in it.  Dang, that's going to annoy me _so_ much.  Nevermind, call Star Butterfly."


	2. Smashing Dreams | Marco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco has to break some dire news to Star regarding the Hearts n' More Hearts Valentine's Day Dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a Marco-centered chapter and features a lot of dialogue. If you're wondering where all the Starco is in this chapter, there is a little, but it is subtle. More Starco will be on the way, and more Tomstar as well. Like I said before, I will give both ships—Startom/Starom/Tomstar and Starco equal chances to shine in this fic.

" _No_ , Star," Marco enunciated as he took a deep breath and lined his arm up to execute a perfect karate chop on a stack of boards. "I'm _not_ asking Jackie to come with me to the Hearts n' More Hearts Valentine's Day Dance."

"Come _on_ , Marco!" Star pleaded, mimicking perfect laser puppy dog eyes. "You know you want to!" Her eyes lit up and she gave a twirl around her best friend, who hardly paid attention as he was busy concentrating on the boards.

Marco sighed. He'd dreamed of asking Jackie to this particular dance a thousand—no, a million—times. Every idea that could possibly get her attention either sounded too obnoxious or too stupid. And besides, now, watching Star twirl around him with an innocently excited look on her face made him doubt whether he even wanted to _go_ with Jackie.

"No, Star. I can't _ask_ her! She—"

" _Please_ , Marco, you can't just not or stumble over your words every time you see her!" Star begged dramatically, kneeling down before him. "You can't—or—or, I'll go crazy!"

He smiled and with a swift hand, proceeded to wham his hand on the boards, disappointed when they merely wobbled a bit instead of splintering. "You already are, Star."

" _Not_ the point," Star pouted. She instantly perked up and waved her arm eagerly in Marco's face. "Give me one—or two—maybe even a million—good reasons why you can't just ask Jackie to the dance!"

Marco's face fell. Now was the moment he had dreaded all morning, knowing the news he delivered would leave Star crushed. So crushed she'd probably feel low enough to say yes to Tom, who had called her up to see if she wanted to hang out a few hours ago.

Speaking of Tom, when he had called Star through an Interdimensional Mirror (a few hours prior), he seemed very apologetic, even more so than he was on the fateful 'Mr. Candle Incident'. He'd told Star that he wanted to win her back—surprise surprise!—but this time, he'd take her feelings into account. He'd asked if she wanted to go to some demon party that he was hosting in some area of the Underworld Marco had been unfamiliar with. As usual, he gave her a choice in whether she wanted to go or not.

Marco didn't see why that was so spectacular—it's not like he was being _generous_ in giving the girl a choice.

Star had been suspicious, but had said she'd think about—as long as they were going as 'just friends', and even then, she didn't look too excited. Marco had smelled a rat but, knew better than to mess with Tom.

Anyways, back to the horrible news Marco was supposed to deliver.

He'd heard the entire exchange when he was hiding behind a locker yesterday, ready to execute his plan of giving Jackie a Valentine's Day card—two days before the holiday, so she'd remember his best. But as he had cowered behind the locker with jittery fingers and the card in his hand, he heard voices and his worst fears had come true.

He'd know that annoying electronic tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and Jackie's low squealing (in excitement) anywhere, and it broke his little Marco heart.

Marco bowed his head and looked into Star's eager eyes.

"I can't ask Jackie because Oskar already asked her."

Star blinked at her best friend blankly for a few minutes, and Marco cringed. Within a few seconds, her entire body deflated. Her shoulders sagged and her back hunched over, her face utterly defeated. Her magic wand drooped in her hands.

"That's fine."

She walked dejectedly out of Marco's room, not even bothering to undo the crazies she'd sparkled everywhere—which was a problem because Marco didn't know what he was supposed to do with the glittery rainbow polar bear draped over his bed.

Marco looked back at her in panic. Whipping off his karate headband, he reached out an arm and shouted,

"Star—wait!"


	3. Crushed Dreams | Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star's not happy about Oskar—but at least she has Marco by her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! This has a little bit more Starco in it—more on that in the later chapters, especially the next. Tomstar fans—if there are any—don't fret, this story is far from over. And Starco fans—don't freak out because I said that, because like I said, this story is far from over. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I apologize if Star is a little OOC.

* * *

Star closed the door behind her and quietly slumped to the floor. She took in deep, calming breaths, and in attempts to cheer herself up, created a warnicorn statue with a flick of her wand.

It did no good.

She took a deep breath and tried to gather her thoughts.

Oskar had asked Jackie.

Mind you, Star hadn't even planned on going to the dance, and only knew about it through Marco's endless narrated daydreaming (about asking Jackie). Heck, she hadn't even _thought_ of going with Oskar. Nevertheless, the fact that he'd gone and asked Jackie broke her Mewman heart ever so slightly.

Maybe this was how Tom felt when she constantly rejected him. For that one second, she felt an ounce of empathy, and she regretted not going with him to that party. But then, that moment faded; unlike her, Tom tried way too hard—was that supposed to be flattering?

She didn't know.

A soft knock on her door startled her from her very philosophical reverie.

"Star?" Marco's voice resounded. "You okay in there?"

A small smile broke through Star's face. She may not have gotten the guy, but at least she had Marco—maybe that was better?

Star nodded before she realized that Marco couldn't hear her. Instead of answering him, she pushed herself away from the door and twisted the knob to let Marco in.

She grinned when he stepped through, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, I guess I'm glad to see you're all better."

Her grin grew even wider as she enveloped her best friend in an enormous side hug.

"Of course, I am," she laughed. "Did you really think I'd get all hung up on some music-playing Earth-boy?" She internally cringed because she _had_ , in fact, been doing just that. "I have higher standards."

Marco waggled his eyebrows and smirked. "Like demons?"

"Psh," Star smiled, waving her hands nonchalantly. "Whatever, Tom's shindig—if it was anything like the Blood Moon Ball—was bound to be a snooze-fest."

"Well, I'm glad you think so," Marco replied, pulling something out of his hoodie pocket. He showed her a pair of sparkly pink pieces of paper decorated with iridescent red hearts.

Star's eyes instantly caught the shinies. "Ooh! Marco, you didn't tell me that Earth glitter catchers!"

"Glitter catchers?" Marco asked, cocking his head in confusion. "What are those?"

She rolled her eyes. Earth boys could be so stupid, sometimes. "They catch glitter, duh!"

"Of course, they do," he deadpanned goodnaturedly. "Anyways, these aren't glitter catchers—or whatever. These are tickets to the Hearts n' More Hearts Valentine's Day Have A Happy Heart-iday Fair!"

Star stared at him half-liddedly. "Marco, if you say hearts one more time, I _will_ —wait, did you say fair?"

"Yep, every year before the Hearts—" He paused when Star shot him a look and cleared his throat. "Ahem, I meant before the _Valentine's Day_ Dance, there's a huge fair to celebrate."

She stared at him in wonder. Star had only seen fairs in movies and in those comic books that Marco's dad kept around the house. She imagined all the weird contraptions that humans used to have fun and all the odd food that they binged on. It sounded like heaven.

"Since I thought it would make you feel better, and since neither of us has a date since Jackie's going with Oskar—" he continued, looking a little disappointed.

Star's heart sank—but not because of Oskar. How could she be so selfish! Here she was, wallowing in pity because a boy she hardly talked to asked another girl, when the girl Marco had been crushing on since kindergarten had been—had been—taken away from him! Okay, she was being a tad dramatic, but whatever.

"Say no more, Marco," Star decided, cutting him off and marching out towards the door. "We are _going_ to that fair!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to give a heads-up, there won't be much Tom in the next chapter, save for a pretty hefty flashback, but no Tom-centric ones for about two or three chapters. I love the little demon baby so much, alas he's taking a break for a few chappies.


	4. Sweet Dreams | Marco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco wins Star a prize at the Hearts n' More Hearts Happy Heart-iday Fair—and her reaction isn't what he'd expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight Starco—more of that in a few chapters. This is platonic Starco, in this chapter at least, but be prepared for the upcoming ones, just trust me. Next chapter will be past Tomstar—but more present Tomstar to come in a bit. Just wait and see.

"Omigosh, Marco!" Star cried. " _Look_ at this!" She grinned. "They look like rainbow clouds!"

Marco rolled his eyes good-naturedly and strolled over to where Star was pointing. They were at the Hearts n' More Hearts Valentine's Day Happy Heart-iday Fair, and he was very happy to see his best friend cheered up after hearing the news about Oskar.

"Star," he explained patiently, removing her finger from the sticky treat. "That's cotton candy. You eat it. Like this." He demonstrated by grabbing a stick of cotton candy, paying the seller a crisp dollar bill, and stuffing it (the cotton candy, not the money) into his mouth with a satisfied grin.

Star's eyes lit up. "Oooh! Let me try!" Swiping the candy from Marco, she began to chow down in very unladylike bites. "Thish ish delish-shush!" she said, her mouth filled with the treat. She smiled slyly as she gulped down the last bit. "Even better than your nachos."

"Uh, no way," Marco denied, waving his hand sassily. "There ain't nothing that can trump my nachos."

He expected a laugh, or maybe mocking denial, but Star wasn't listening. Her attention had been averted towards a large stand, where people were playing carnival games. Her eyes opened wide in amazement and her face glowed with excitement.

"Marco," she breathed, grabbing his wrist and dragging him towards her place of attraction. "What is _that_?"

Marco sighed. "It's a game, Star."

He _hated_ carnival games. They were always rigged, and the prizes were either stupid or too big to carry. Besides, they were very good at emptying his pockets of allowance. Whenever Marco Diaz was set to win something, he wouldn't stop trying until he reached his prize—or ran out of money, whichever came first. Usually, it was the money.

"Marco, Marco, Marco, let's go do that!" Star pleaded, staring at the game—which was basically a typical 'Knock Down the Milk Bottles' game—longingly. She turned to him and gave her best Laser Puppy Dog eyes.

Marco internally groaned. How was he supposed to say 'no' to that face? He was _far_ from immune to cute.

"Fine," he conceded, ready to lose all his cash. "But, are you sure you don't wanna go on the rides, first? I hear the roller coaster's taking passengers in two minutes."

Star glared at him teasingly, waving her wand in his face. "What's wrong, Marco? Don't think you'll win the game?"

Marco took a step back in mock offense. "No, I'm not! I'll totally win— just you wait!" Taking up a heroic stance, he sauntered over to the game with Star in tow, snickering.

"One ball, please," Marco told the employee running the game.

The man stared at him boredly, before grabbing Marco's money and handing him a lighter-than-light softball.

Marco grimaced, testing the ball's weight. This was obviously rigged. He turned behind him to see Star's eager face behind him and sighed.

Lining up his karate arm, Marco aimed at one of the bottom-most milk bottles with all his might. Without so much as a care, the ball bounced off of the bottle harmlessly. Darn it, that was a perfect hit, too.

Marco growled. Handing the cashier another dollar, he grabbed another ball.

Hit after hit, miss after miss, Marco watched his perfect throws hardly even push the bottles. With each throw, he became more and more frustrated, to the point where he was throwing money at the cashier and had to force himself to calm down.

Finally, when he was on his last dollar bill (he'd already spent $50 already), Marco had had enough. Reaching from the depths of his soul to find his inner strength like his sensei had taught him, Marco launched the ball from his fingertips. The softball rammed into one of the bottles, and to his surprise, brought the whole tower down.

"Congratulations, kid," the employee said blandly. He handed Marco a sparkly teal headband with iridescent rainbows glinting off of the cat ears.

"What?" Marco scoffed, stretching his sore arm. "All that work for a headband? Besides, I don't even wear these."

The employee blinked. "Hey, don't get mad at me, kid. The school's cuttin' corners in their carnivals—I don't choose what the prizes are."

Marco shot the man a dirty look before grabbing the headband. What was he going to do with _this_?

"Wow, Marco, you won, yay," Star grumbled drowsily, as if just waking up. Apparently, she had fallen asleep in the time he'd been working his tail off.

Suddenly, an idea lit up in his head. "Here, Star, look, I won you something," he said, offering the headband to her. He had no use for it, anyways. "Now your headband actually matches your outfit."

Star took the headband from him and smiled at him with what looked like sleepy gratitude. She reached for her normal headband, which was red and had devil horns. When her hands grasped the band, she paused and was silent.

"Star?" Marco asked, gently pushing the headband towards her. She wasn't always so quiet. He looked intently at her face, and asked, "Aren't you going to wear it?"

He was slightly taken aback when he noticed that Star's eyes looked distant, as if she was reliving a past memory or in another world, her hand still grasped tightly onto her headband.


	5. Broken Dreams | Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star reminisces on her past—and finally lets it go—sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh! Past Tomstar, and some implied present Starco! Don't worry, there's still loads more to go!

Star grasped her demon horn headband so tightly that her knuckles turned snow white. Could she really take it off?

* * *

 

" _Heeeey, Starship!" Tom greeted her as he barreled into her room through the window._

_She'd been grounded for an entire month ever since she and Pony Head gotten caught sneaking off to a commoner party in the kingdom of Sandewni (Pony Head was grounded as well), and the only thing that allowed her to stop from going bonkers was her crazy demon boyfriend's secret visits._

_He stamped off the flames licking his feet on her boringly expensive velvet rug_ _—but Star didn't mind. She never liked it anyway._

" _Oh, hey, Tom," Star said, her distracted tone contrasting from the enormous bear hug she ran to give him. She was_ far _too interested in the bag Tom had been carrying instead. She grinned excitedly. "So, what's in the bag, huh?" Hey, if you're cooped up in your room for a while, even bags are celebration-worthy spectacles._

_Tom smiled slyly and pretended to hide the bag from view behind him. "Oh, this? Nothing, nothing."_

_Her interest piqued instantly. Shuffling around him, Star tried to grab the bag, but he kept shifting just out of her reach._

" _Come_ on _, Tom," she laughed as she still tried to steal the bag. "Let me see it!"_

_He smiled indulgently, his pointed teeth showing through his grin._

"Fine _," Tom conceded, whipping the bag from behind him. His demeanor changed and he scratched his neck anxiously. "Well, I know you're bored around here, so I went to Aberzombie & Ditch and bought you a little something." _

_He frowned, and his eyes glowed a faint shade of pink, any embarrassment long forgotten, and instead replaced with annoyed anger. "The stupid lady at the cash register was a_ horrible _gift wrapper though—apparently my gift was an 'irregular shape'—so I had to buy a gift_ bag _instead_."

" _Really?" Star squealed. "Let me see it!"_

_Tom blinked, his eyes fading back to their normal color. "You want to see the gift bag? Star, you're staring at it."_

" _Not the_ gift bag _, silly!" she clarified. "The_ gift _!"_

_He handed her the bag and Star flopped onto her bed, eagerly pulling off the layers and layers of tissue paper covering the present._

" _Must've been a small gift," she commented, her head still buried in the tissue paper. "There's mostly paper in here."_

 _Tom merely smiled, his face looking angelic with his devilish grin and horns—which made total sense to Star. She'd always dreamt of owning her own pair of horns—when she first saw Tom, she was_ so _jealous—but alas, she was cursed without them. So sad._

_Star gasped excitedly when she yanked off the last layer of paper to reveal the gift._

" _My own pair of horns!" Star squealed as she pulled out a bright red headband, two demon horns sticking out on the top. She instantly pushed the hair accessory into her hair and turned to her Interdimensional Mirror to see what she looked like. Once she caught a glimpse of herself, she ran over to Tom and enveloped him in an even bigger bear hug than before. "Thanks, Tom!"_

_Tom returned the hug with force, and meekly asked, "Do you like it?"_

" _Like it? I_ love _it!" Star grinned. Her demeanor changed after a moment, and she turned towards Tom and pointed at his spiky head. His eyes followed her finger in confusion._

_Softly, she said, "Now, you're not the only one with horns."_

* * *

 

Star's eyes moved quickly between Tom's demon headband and Marco's kitten one.

Tom's headband had always been a part of her, just as he once had been. It was something she hardly ever took off, unless she _had_ to, like when she was sleeping or showering.

But, Tom was in her past, wasn't he?

 _Wasn't he_?

She didn't know.

Star turned towards Marco, who looked at her with eagerly confused eyes. Her heart beat a little faster when she glanced at his face. It was concerned and caring, truly wondering what she was doing hesitating for so long.

And why was she?

Tom was a part of her past, and therefore the memories she shared with him were just as void—right?

Then why did a little part of her break when she whipped off his headband and put on Marco's?


	6. Last Chance Dreams | Tom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom's angry—but decides one more chance is all he needs.
> 
> If all else fails, he'll leave Star alone.
> 
> For good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This chapter has some one-sided Tomstar in it, but hell will that change soon (hence why this is a love triangle)!

Tom stood still in his bedroom, alone. His hand only flinched when another ball rebounded towards him during his ping-pong game. He'd set up a board from the opposite side of the game table so that whenever he hit the ball across the table, he wouldn't have to teleport to the other side to hit it back.

It was the way of life for someone who was perpetually lonely.

A life of one-person ping-pong, dateless parties, and solitary grenade shopping.

He wasn't always lonely, you know.

He'd had friends.

One friend, in particular, though, was his favorite definition of "good company", and she had gone—left him alone (even though it was mostly his fault— _which_ is a story for another time).

 _2 hours_.

That's how long he had waited for Star when he'd asked her to hang out and go to that party with him. He'd waited and waited, looking stupid at the entrance of the host's house, looking for his ''just friends' date'. At one point, he'd stationed a guard outside and headed into the party, with no other intention but to look for Star.

She wasn't there.

In addition to that, he'd missed the entirety of the party, as well as a part of his well-respected reputation . . . which already was a bit tarnished due to his 'less-than-demonic display of 'host-manship'' at the Blood Moon Ball.

Yes, he had given Star a choice, and _no_ , he wasn't going to storm into her stupid Marco's house and demand where she was (because he was above that, at least _now_ he was), but . . . couldn't she have called to let him know that she wasn't coming? Then, he would've known and wouldn't have looked so stupid.

She had said _maybe_ when he'd called her, but 'maybe' still meant 'maybe yes', right?

 _It also means 'maybe no'_ , his brain stupidly pointed out.

Nevertheless, he wasn't going to get mad . . .

In public.

At home?  

 _That_ was a different story.

He'd managed to keep his anger in check so that his wrath only was evident in the goblin servants quarters. In that wing of his castle, the rooms were a charred and blackened mess, with the furniture and other personal items burned to a crisp. Nothing survived his furious flames.

This display of fury was quite controlled, actually, so much so that it wouldn't even impact his "__ Days Anger Free" calendar. Seriously— _that's_ how bad his anger usually was. It had taken quite a dip back when he and Star were dating, but that being said, he still had trouble controlling that part of himself.

Anyways, once his anger had well been extinguished (as well as the flames from the goblin rooms), Tom had drearily grumped back to his room, and childishly slammed the door.

He flopped onto his bed for a nap, but sleep wouldn't grace him. Heh, even slumber didn't want to mess with him, even post-anger.

With no wink of sleep in sight, Tom slipped over to his ping-pong table, where just a short while ago, he'd won (like, it was kinda sad) playing Marco. It had been slightly fun, having Marco as company, even though he was probably the reason why his precious Starship didn't come to the party.

But he couldn't give dipwad Marco _all_ the blame; Star was her own person—er Mewman. She did what she liked, and if she hadn't wanted to come to the party, she wouldn't come.

That's _an understatement_ , he thought to himself, as he rebounded another ball to his nonexistent opponent.

That being said, he'd give his Starship _one_ more chance.

One more chance to reform their relationship back to what it once was.

One more chance to make things right.

 _If this doesn't work_ , he decided. _Then, I'll leave her alone_.

For good.

Besides, one more chance is all he needed...

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you know, Tom is not weak-willed; when he says he'll leave Star alone, he definitely will. If he says he won't pine for her anymore, he won't. ...But you do know this story is far from over, right?


	7. Jealous Hurt Dreams | Tom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom asks Star on a 'just friends' date, which is his last chance to get back with her—how will she react?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another (longer) Tom chapter because he needs some more love in this story.

"Okay, okay, okay," Tom told himself as he paced around his room. His handheld Interdimensional Mirror was in his hand, and he'd put on his favorite white suit. He was ready. "I've got this."

Or at least, that's what he told himself.

His slightly trembling hands and palpitating heart told another story.

This was it.

One more rejection and he was done.

He'd never get Star Butterfly.

For that matter, if Star happened to say 'yes', that didn't necessarily mean he'd automatically woo Star because she could always say 'no' some other time or take their relationship to a different stage—like 'just friends forever'.

Tom was determined to make sure that _never_ happened.

 _Ever_.

Mustering up a bit of confidence from his never-ending reserves, he took a deep breath and whispered,

"Mirror, Mirror, on the—er, in my hand—call Star Butterfly."

It took a few minutes for Star to answer—maybe she was playing 'hard-to-get'?—but Tom's patience didn't falter.

_"She just does whatever she wants."_

_"Yeah, that's Star."_

_"Yeah. She_ is _kinda awesome."_

" _Tom_?" a surprised voice answered. Star's face appeared on the mirror—her beautiful blond hair was in some human ponytail updo, and her outfit was reminiscent of those boring Earth fashions (but he couldn't care less about what she wore)—but what the hell was in her hair? Was that a—

"Look," Star continued, before Tom could questioningly accuse her. She waved her hand nonchalantly, although he could see in her baby blue eyes that she looked slightly guilty. "I'm sorry I couldn't come to your 'demon dance' or whatever, but I—"

"What happened to your horns?" He could have asked a million other questions—about why she didn't call him saying she couldn't go with him, why she'd put finger quotes around 'demon dance' or why she let Earth dictate her fashion choices, but that was the most pressing.

Instead of her usual horned headband, one that he'd personally bought for her, she'd worn a pair of glittery _cat ears_. Hell, they matched her outfit, but—but—her _horns_!

Tom's anger complex didn't start up this time.

This time, something else sputtered in his heart.

 _Hurt_.

Of all things she had to change, it had to be the one little thing he'd shared with her. They'd had a lot of good memories together, and that headband was the one thing that was always the same. Even when she'd come to Earth, even when she kinda chose Marco over him, she'd kept that headband.

Until now.

_"Now, you're not the only one with horns."_

Was it just him, or did the guilt in Star's eyes intensify?

She gulped. "Marco won it for me at the—" Star took a deep breath and looked thoughtful for a moment, as if she was trying to remember something. "Um, at the Hippy Heartsy Hearty Heart Valentine's Day Fair. Or, was it Hearts n' More Heart Have a Happy Heart-iday Valentine's Day Fair?" She shook her head. "I don't remember exactly what he called it, but all I know is that it has a lot of hearts in it."

Tom felt his own heart deflate. Wasn't Valentine's Day that stupid human holiday that symbolized romance between two people? He'd heard that the love could also be platonic, but he highly doubted that was why Marco won it for her.

He gave a fake smile, which was more reminiscent of gritted teeth. He tried not to let his hurt show and felt his temper flare slightly instead. He reached for a fluffy pillow (Brian and his bunny had long since gone) and started to pet it to calm himself down.

"Wow, Starship, that's _great_!" he said, casually as he fumed inside. "Excuse me for a moment."

Star shrugged, and with that, Tom flipped the mirror upside down onto the ground and banged on a black spiky gong next to his bedside table.

A second later, one of his servants materialized in front of him

"Yes, my lord?" the beefy goblin asked. He was one of Tom's experts on human culture.

"Give me everything you know about the um . . . Hearts n' More Hearts Have a Happy Heart-iday Valentine's Day Fair," Tom demanded, his tongue faltering at the odd alliteration, and made sure to let his eyes flash pink in order to let the goblin know that he was impatient.

"Right away, Master Tom," the goblin replied. He pulled out a charred scroll from his belt and read aloud. "The Hearts n' More Hearts Have a Happy Heart-iday Valentine's Day Fair that is held every year before the big romantic Valentine's Day Dance at Echo Creek Academy. It's a place where lovers use time to get to know each other before the big lovey-dovey shebang—"

Tom's eyes flashed again, and he growled despondently. "That's enough. You're dismissed."

The goblin nodded dutifully and vanished into the air.

Tom sighed.

He'd lost her.

He'd lost his Starship.

She was with that meddling Marco now.

He had no chance.

 _One more chance_ , a voice in his head reminded him.

Tom's heart lifted at that, but his more logical side reminded him, _Star's not going to say yes if she's dating Marco_.

"No point in not trying," he convinced himself, even though he knew it was fruitless.

 _One more chance_.

With that, Tom sauntered over to the mirror and picked it up, fixing his hair as he did so.

"As I said, that's _great_ Starship. Happy to know that you and that Diaz kid are _getting along_ ," he said, maybe a bit too cheerfully. He cleared his throat. "So, anyways, I was wondering, you up for crashing 'Princess Froufrou Mannerington of Froufrewni's' party tomorrow night? I get it if you don't wanna come, but I thought it'd be fun."

Star looked mildly intruiged. "Crash 'Miss Super Uptight and Follow the Rules or Die's' party?"

Tom nodded and smiled inside. It was something that him and her had done countless times before, and it always brought back good memories. To hell with trying new things, the oldies were always the goodies.

A second later, she raised an eyebrow at him. "This wouldn't be some dumb way to win me back, would it? 'Cause I told you, we're over."

"No way, Starship, demon's honor," he lied. "I thought we'd just go, you know, as _friends_." The word tasted bitter on his tongue but had no choice. He had to do what she wanted, or his chances were ruined.

She looked over her shoulder for a second, probably Marco, which annoyed him to no end. She gave a small nod and turned back to Tom.

"Okay, sounds good. But just 'as friends' or, I'll go all Super Rainbow Dolphin Slam on you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Starco and Tomstar coming soon.


	8. Changing Dreams | Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star's contemplating if she made the right decision on accepting Tom's invitation—and it totally doesn't help that she starts seeing Marco in a new light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you know, all the weird-ass princess names mentioned in this chapter are all the same girl. Tom and Star hate her so much that they refuse to call her by her given name, so they just make up stupid titles for her. 
> 
> This chapter contains subtle, but blatant at the same time, Starco.

Star flopped onto her bed melodramatically, a groan escaping her mouth. Next to her, Marco gave her a pat on the back and placed a plate filled with an overwhelming amount of nachos by her side.

"Marco,  _what have I done_?" she whined drearily, pivoting to stuff a few nachos in her mouth.

"Um," Marco began, pausing to think. "You accepted an invite from your demon ex-boyfriend to go to a party hosted by some prissy princess?" He shook his head and looked at her confusedly. "I'm kinda surprised, though, I didn't think pretty princess parties were your style."

Star shifted so now she was sitting up and laughed. "Oh, Marco, you're  _so_  cute! We're not  _going_ to 'Miss Frilly Nilly Stick-Straight Posture's' party!—We weren't even invited!" She grinned and gave her wand a twirl; Marco's sweatshirt turned into a navy blue tee that had pink letters spelling out 'I'm So Cute!'.

Marco gave her a look before examining his shirt and then scouring his room for a new one. "Then what exactly are you doing?"

" _Ugh_ , Marco, now, you're so dense!" With another flick of her wand, she changed the 'Cute!' on Marco's shirt to 'Dense!'. "Didn't you hear what Tom said? We're  _crashing_  the party! You know, slipping styrofoam glitter bombs into the punch, hijacking the DJ's turntables, that sort of thing," Star replied, as if she did it every day.

He raised an eyebrow as he slipped on a new hoodie over his tee. "But—but aren't you afraid of getting in trouble, or something?"

"Puh- _lease_ ," Star assured him. "Tom and I have crashed 'Princess Stick in the Imported Mud's' party’s  _dozens_  of time. It's almost standard that we cause shenanigans—it won't be her party without them."

Marco looked like he wanted to protest, but kept his mouth shut.

Star was satisfied. As long as Marco was relatively okay with what she was doing, she wouldn't rethink her plans. Perhaps it was a good thing for her to spend some time with Tom, you know, as a toast to the good times. They  _had_ had fun before.

* * *

  _"Starship, you've got the smoke bomb balloons?"_

_"Definitely, you got the dimensional scissors?"_

_"Stolen from my dad, and yep."_

_"Sweet! ’Her Royal Highness, Princess Puffypants of Froufrewni', here we come!_

* * *

_"Come_ on _, Tom, let's dance!"_

_"Now? But we haven't put grape eyeballs on the stone gargoyle decorations yet!"_

_"Later, later! The dance floor's empty now! We've changed all of 'Princess Sugarsweet Plumbum's' music—so it's perfect to dance to!"_

_"But—"_

_"Stay there if you want, but you're gonna miss out on all the fun!"_

* * *

_"Star,_ shut up _! Shut up, okay!? Just shutupshutup_ shutup _!"_

 _"Tom,_   _seriously, you need to_ calm down _—"_

_"No, Star—this—this—this is your fault! Maybe if we weren't even together—"_

* * *

Star flinched and closed her eyes.  _That_ was a memory she'd preferred to repress forever. She thought she had buried it underneath piles of other thoughts; how had it suddenly flashed across her mind?

Marco cocked his head, noticing her mood change. "You okay, Star?"

She turned to her best friend. To her surprise, instead of a best friend, she saw someone else.

A protector, a friend who knew her better than anyone. A part of herself. She hadn't ever wanted a hero, ever since her last one had pushed her away, but Marco had quickly become one and filled in the gap.

He worried about her, he cared for her, and he made sure she was all right. And when they were both hurt, he put his pain aside and focused on hers instead of getting angry and pushing her away.

A clingy voice in her head whispered,  _Tom_.

Why? Why did she always think of that stupid demon (whom she kinda planned on crashing a party with) when she was in the middle of praising Marco?

 _Stupid memories_.

"Star?" Marco asked again when she didn't answer, worry pooling in his dark brown eyes. "What's going on?"

She sighed wearily and leaned on his shoulder. She shoved a heap of nachos into her mouth and answered, "Just rethinking my decision on going to that party tomorrow night."

Unbeknownst to her, Marco gave a small, satisfied smile.


	9. Fortune Dreams | Marco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star's looking for advice in fortune cookies again—luckily Marco's there to talk some (sorta) sense into her. This chapter takes place an hour or two from the last one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's hella confusing and weird in my opinion, mainly because I'm sleep-deprived and my heart's currently on HikaHaru (OTP from OHSHC anime) mode and not Starco/Tomstar mode. Sorry 'bout that.
> 
> Also, no, Marco doesn't ship Tomstar; he just likes seeing Star remotely happy. Crashing parties with Tom relives nostalgia for her, so she kinda wants to go, despite how annoying Tom may be.

He didn't get it.

Like, at all.

Oh, Marco _knew_ Star was confusing—that's what made her _Star_.

But now, she wasn't _just_ confusing, she was borderline _insane_!

One second, she's telling him _all_ about going to _crash_ some princess's party with Tom, and the next second, she zones out and says she's going to rethink her decision on even _going_!

Was that some hormonal thing that went along with Mewberty?

Heh, maybe he should get _his_ hormones checked before accusing Star's. He'd been internally very gleeful when Star seemed hesitant afterwards; it was as if she wanted to spend more time with him at the Diaz household rather than with Tom . . . having fun.

Star _had_ seemed pretty nostalgic and excited to crash that party with her ex, and well, even though it was Marco who had convinced Star to go in the first place (mainly because, would she have even listened to him if he said 'no'?), he was kinda regretting it.

Marco would admit it; he was slightly jealous, and didn't like it one bit. Being jealous was like having a moldy cloud over his head, and filled his stomach with slime.

But, he couldn't help it. Over the course of their friendship, he'd felt himself drawn more and more to Star, even to the point of where his protectiveness went a little past 'just besties'.

The fact that Star looked ready to have a ball with Tom totally forced Marco to admit a green card, and it didn't help that he couldn't fault Tom for being super shady and horrible. Tom . . . actually wasn't a terrible person—er, demon. Which totally sucked.

Anyways, for the time being, he had more pressing things in mind.

Currently, he was flopped sideways on Star's bed, watching her trying to conjure up dozens of fortune cookies, looking and pouring through each fortune to see if they possibly held an answer for her current dilemma, which involved backing out on Tom's invitation or not.

Marco was presently trying to figure out what to tell her, because he thought that Star should probably base her choices on an opinion from a concerned friend rather than . . . a cookie. We all _know_ how that turned out last time she did that.

"Hey, Marcooo," Star called, breaking apart another cookie, and pulling him out of his thoughts. "Watcha thinking about?" She dropped the cookie and waved a hand in his face. "You look a little _boring_."

He raised an eyebrow. "I _look_ boring?"

"Mh-hm," she replied, nodding her head and returning to reading her fortune. A second later, her eyes widened and she yanked Marco off the bed, pulling him so she could read the fortune. "Ohmimewni, ohmimewni! Look, Marco! This cookie's the one—read it! Read it!"

Marco squinted his eyes and read aloud, "It seems mostly cloudy today, with a slight chance of showers and cool breezes." He untangled himself from Star's grasp and turned to look at his friend incredulously. "Star, that's not a fortune; that's a weather forecast!"

He flipped the box that the cookies came from over and rolled his eyes. "Star, you bought these from the Weather Forecast Fortune Cookies bakery; putting the supposed weather forecast in every cookie is their shtick! And their predictions are usually wrong!"

"Hmph, say what you want, Marco, but I know what this means," Star argued. She picked the small slip of paper from his hands. "Going with Tom will be a rain shower on my perfectly sunny day! That's it, I'm not going to that party! I'm calling Tom to tell him I'm canceling!" Star whipped out her wand, and her face showed traces of disappointment under all that determination.

Marco exhaled. Screw it, this was stupid. He probably should've been happy that Star wasn't going, but . . . the disappointment on her face kinda stopped him from feeling anything but guilt, even though he hadn't really done anything.

He knew what it was time for:

A best friend intervention.

"Look, Star," Marco began. "You know that fortune cookies are made up, right?" He didn't wait for an answer because he already knew. This _had_ happened before, after all. "If crashing the party with Tom makes you happy, in some weird, probably twisted way, you should go for it. You know, catch up on old times, and stuff."

Star was quiet for a moment, and waved her poised-to-call-Tom wand, making all the fortune cookies disappear. "You really think so?"

Marco shrugged. Did he? "Um, yeah, I guess."

She smiled and raced over to give him a hug, which Marco secretly very much enjoyed and internally melted for. "Thanks, Marco!" Quickly, she grabbed her wand and ran downstairs. "I'm going to get ready!" she cried over her shoulder.

"Uh, Star? You know you're going tomorrow, right?" Marco called.

"Yeah, but do you _know_ how many preparations it takes to crash a party of epic proportions?" yelled Star, her voice muffled because she was a floor beneath him.

The Safe Kid wandered back to his room, smiling and shaking his head. "I guess, I don't."


	10. Nervous Dreams | Tom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom tries to be nice as he greets Star on the roof before the party—but things don't go as planned.

Tom waited on the roof of Princess Frilly-Frilly Frop Frops's castle for Star. The sky was dark, signaling the glimmering full moon to shine even more bright than usual. There was a slight chill in the air, but Tom's long sleeves on his white suit protected him from the brunt of it.

The roof, being unguarded and with a window that led into the attic of the castle, was the perfect spot for getting ready to ambush the party that was at its full peak below.

He'd brought chocolate candies that squirted _fake_ unicorn blood at anyone who dared take a bite, bubble wands that blew bubbles that 'farted' instead of popping (immature, but amusing), felt tablecloths that were covered in tiny fingers that grasped anyone who rubbed their hand across the top, and many more (perhaps dangerous) gags that were sure to liven up 'Her Highness Stickysugarsweetcake's' party.

He just hoped Star wouldn't blow him off again . . .

"Oh, hey, Tom. Didn't know you'd be early," a voice resounded from behind him. If Tom wasn't one courageous demon with hella awesome hair, he would've jumped out of his skin. Which he almost did.

He coughed, mainly because he was nervous and gasping for air. He'd accidentally swallowed a 'Hellscream Gumball' (which was another party gag he'd planned to execute) when he whipped around, hearing Star's voice.

"Oh, h-hey—" Tom began, cursing himself when he heard his voice shake, this time purely out of nerves. He shook his head to correct himself. "I mean, _hey_ ,Starship! Didn't expect to see _you_ here." He leaned back suavely so that he'd looked cool and carefree, but nearly fell over.

Star raised an eyebrow. "Tom, _you_ invited me here."

Damn it, how did he forget that?

"Right, right, totally, totally," Tom laughed nervously. _Come, on, dude_! _Exude confidence_! "What I _meant_ was, um, I didn't expect to see you here dressed like _that_!" _There. Fixed the problem. Wait—did I just insult her?_

His Starship didn't look pleased. She twirled around in her punk black leggings and pink pleated skirt. She had a mismatched glittery powder blue shirt and . . . a cat-ear headband. "What's wrong with how I dress?"

"Nothing, nothing," Tom tried, his apology drastically lost on Star, who 'hmphed' and rolled her eyes.

Crap, this 'date' was already on a horrible start.

" _What_ ever," Star said, walking around him to the window that opened into the attic of the castle.

Tom felt bad and wanted to say something. He wanted this 'just friends' thing to go well, and wanted to make amends. But what in the Underworld would he _say_?

"Star—" his mouth began, without any consent from his brain. _Damn_ it. Star turned to look at him confusedly, and Tom felt any words dry up on his tongue immediately. "Um, let me help you with that," he fumbled instead, propelling himself over the where Star was busily trying to yank the window open.

"No worries," Star replied, yanking out her wand and aiming it at the window. "Glowworm Blast!" she cried.

As soon as the words exited her mouth, a flood of blue glowworms streamed out of her wand, and pummeled the glass panes of the window, leaving nothing but shards and an empty frame wide enough for them to go through.

" _That's_ gonna create a draft," Tom commented as he helped Star wiggle through the broken window, and then went through himself. It was kind of something they'd always done, hence why sometimes they'd called each other 'Broken Window Buddies'.

Star shrugged. "Maybe, but I'll fix it." Another shout of "Lightning Turtle Rescue" and a wave of her wand later, the window resumed its former pristine condition.

"Nice job," Tom congratulated, poking the window to see that indeed, was solid and break-free.

This seemed to break the ice a little, and Star smiled.

"Thanks, I've been practicing," she replied, looking around the huge castle attic. "Where to next?"

Tom smiled and led the way to the ever-busy party below.


	11. All By My Lonesome Dreams | Marco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, I lowkey forgot this story for erm, a year. XD BUT I'm back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, I lowkey forgot this story for erm, a year. XD BUT I'm back!

Marco sat nervously on the couch, one hand digging through the deluge of cheese sauce on his nachos for a tortilla chip covered in equal portions meat and cheese, and the other hand nearing his mouth as he chewed his fingernails in anxiety.

 _Calm down, Marco, Star's only been gone for seventeen minutes and forty-two seconds_.   _She's probably really sad that you're not there and will definitely want to come back home because um . . . Tom's . . . not . . . that . . . fun?_

Okay, he knew that that was kind of a stretch.  Tom _was_ fun, he knew that much.  Or at least, he could be, when he wasn't trying to manipulate you in helping him graduate from his "Anger-Management Academy", or whatever. 

 _Oh-ho-ho, Marco_ , the voice in his head (which sounded  _way_  too much like the Naysaya at this point for his liking) giggled.   _Did you not think that your precious Star Butterfly would have_ fun _with her beloved Thomas, hmm_?   _So much fun that they would forget about you_ forever _and totally forget to invite you to their_ wedding?

"Ahh!"  Marco screamed, in a voice that was a few octaves too high to ever even be  _considered_  manly.  He waved his hands (one covered in cheese) about wildly.  "I'm going to go crazy!"  He set his bowl of nachos on the couch and began to pace haphazardly on the living room floor.  "Okay, okay, okay."  

He took a deep breath.  He'd never freaked out like this about Star before, especially when he knew that she was perfectly safe with Tom and had even seemed  _mildly_  excited to go.  

It was just . . . there  _may_  have been a  _super slight_ possibility that he wanted this 'date', oh, erm, 'party-crashing' to go so horribly that Star would never want to see Tom ever again.  And so that Star would realize that spending her days having fun on Earth was  _exponentially_  better than . . . with Tom.  And so that the demon would stay away from Star for the next billion millennia.

Deep down, he knew that Tom really didn't deserve that, but hey,  _if_  their 'party-crashing' ended up turning tail for disaster, Marco would  _not_ mind all that much. 

He fought the urge to rush to Star's room and command her Interdimensional Mirror to check if she was okay, mainly because that would make him seem like a paranoid nutjob (*coughity cough  _cough_ * like Tom).

A giggle erupted from the back of mind.   _It looks like_ Marco Diaz's  _thoughts suggest that he_   _has a crush on his best_ friend _._

Wait.  Where the heck had  _that_  thought come from?  And anyways, he didn't.  100% didn't.  It wasn't like when Star did something so unconventionally  _adorable_  he resisted the urge declare the world, "Yeah, that's my girl friend!"  And when she said something so  _sage_  and wise that picked him right out of the dumps, he  _totally_ didn't want to strangle her with a bear hug so tight and warm and  _right_ that anyone with half a brain could see that they were  _more_  than friends.  

Nope.  He absolutely didn't.

He sighed.  Very loudly.

His mother peeked in from the kitchen.  "Are you having problems with Star, again, honey?"

"No, no, Mom," he replied, holding his hands up.  "I'm just, you know, wandering around the house all by my lonesome for fun.  Does it look dark in here to you?"  He pointed to the empty seat next to him. Just like his own spot on the couch, it was squished to maximum capacity due to all the lounging around and watching TV that he and Star had done on it.  "Star and I used to sit around all the time and have . . . fun.  Lots of fun."

"Oh, Marco.  Star hasn't been gone for half an hour yet," his mom replied, raising an eyebrow.  "Hm, you know, you kind of remind me of how your father gets when he hasn't had his daily serving of  _elotes_ with pancake syrup and gummy bears.  All depressed and mopey."

Marco cringed.  "I still don't get how he eats that stuff.  They look as appetizing as Star's sugarittos."

And there he went again, thinking about Star.  It seemed that she consumed nearly every aspect of his life.  

Honestly, he couldn't imagine much of a life without her. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: GASPS FOR ALL THE TOMSTAR TO COME (and Starco, too, but the next chapter's gonnnnna be Tomstar 'cause we haven't had any mutual Tomstar in this story where they are in the same place yet)


	12. These Are Not Dreams | Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why in the world is Tom Lucitor creeping into Star's 20/20 Love Vision?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MWAHAHAHA! GIT YOUR DAILY DOSE OF TOMSTAR HERE! AH, BUT FRET NOT; REMEMBER WHEN I SAID THIS SHIT WOULD BE EQUAL? WELL, I MEANT IT. BE PREPARED FOR SOME STARCO IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPPIES (THE RABBIT) (GODDAMMIT IT SEEMS I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MAKING A BLEACH REFERENCE)! 
> 
> P.S I DUNNO WHY I'M WRITING IN CAPS. I JUST WANNA.

Star fidgeted with her wand, not a spell on her lips.  It was quite late into the night and she was absolutely  _terrified_.

Absolutely terrified of the fact that she was having  _fun_  with Tom.

They had done everything they could in the realm of mischief-making at Princess Prudish Straitlace's party, from hijacking the menu (it now consisted of a strange assortment of aged eyeballs and bales of year-old hay as hor devours as opposed to the original Super Sparkle Petite Fours and Glowy Glittery Cheese Balls) to writing TOM + STAR WAS HERE (although it ended up looking more like "TOMSTAR WAS HERE") in fake cherry blood (read: real cherry juice (not from concentrate!)) across the walls.  

And now, she was waiting in a nearby hall for Tom to return with all the stolen good stuff—the fancy and ridiculously expensive party favors.

Star sighed and leaned against a wall, putting her wand on the ground.  She rubbed her forehead in frustration; why was her relationship with the stupid demon so  _hard_?  

 _With Marco, it's so easy_ , she thought.  He was so good and so kind and so dorky and so . . . so  _wonderful_.  He picked her up when she was down, held her hand during the especially scary (yet cool) parts of human horror movies and was  _always_  there for her.  And besides, it was his idea for her to go to this party with Tom, anyway—and she had had fun.  Another point for Marco—he knew her well.

"Hey, Starship," Tom grinned, as he emerged from the shadows with a mountain of colorful bags filled with party favors piled in his hands.  He  had dropped the I-am-so-suave act early on, and was back to acting like his normal doofus-yet-I-can-still-act-cool-on-a-whim self.

She noticed that his smile had become easier as the night wore on—it was a far cry from his usually daunting grin laced with devilish intent.  It was also a  _huge_  improvement from his past near-permanent 'I-am-barely-tolerating-you-why-are-you-so-annoying-wait-why-are-you-talking-to- _that_ -guy-i-am-right-here' grimace.  Star realized that she liked Tom's smile.  It was unguarded and open—something that he wasn't always.  

"Wow," she commented as she took a fair portion of gifts from Tom's arms (where they always this  _muscley_?).  She fished out a what-would-be-worth-two-billion-dollars-in-Earth-money vase from the Crystal Dimension from one of the party favor bags.  "Ya think Rhombulus made this?"

Tom took the vase from her hand and examined it.  "Beats me," he shrugged, "but then again, my dad says all people from the Crystal Dimension are 'Plebians Who Deserve Nothing More Than a Half-Nippled Leader Who Wears Purple Briefs'."

Star didn't always know what to make of the crystal-creating man, but she knew that Rhombulus and the people of the Crystal Dimension were  _not_  worthy of such an insult.  "Hey!  Watch your mouth, Tom.  Rhombulus and everyone else on his dimension may be kinda weird, but hey, who isn't?  And besides!  He's on the Magic High Commission, for crying out loud!"

She cringed a bit.  So much for a peaceful night with a 'just friend'.  If the past was anything to judge by, she knew that even so much as  _raising_ her voice at Tom could spur an inferno that rivaled those  _lame_  volcanoes (not flashy at all!) humans had on Earth.  

Unsurprisingly, Tom's eyes  _did_ glow that reddish-pink hue.  She watched as his grip around his share of the party favors tightened to the point that if he put any more pressure, he would crush them.  She didn't try to stop him; she had been through this countless times before, and if Tom was going to be a giant baby about her defending a friend, she was  _blowing_  this popsicle stand and returning home to Earth.  And ignoring him for the rest of eternity.

All of a sudden, Tom took a  _very_  deep breath and closed his eyes.  "You're gonna lose her, you're gonna lose her," he muttered to himself (she honestly had no idea what to make of that statement.  Was he referring to 'her' as in the party favors?  Wow, did he just assume their gender?).  

Tom reopened his eyes a moment later, and Star was surprised to see them return to their usual red hue.  His chokehold on the party favors lessened, and he looked entirely calm.    

Star was mind-blown.  It seemed that all that life coaching he had boasted about had actually  _worked_.  

"Star, I—" he mumbled, at the same moment she blurted, "Whoa, Tom, I—".  They both paused.  

"I'll go first," she asserted.  "Whoa, Tom, I had no idea you had such a control over your um . . . yanno . . . emotions."  She felt as if there was more to be said, but there was no way in  _Mewni_  that she was going to apologize for underestimating his anger-management skills.

Tom brought a hand to his neck awkwardly.  "Yeah, you know . . . Brian really helped.  And Marshmallow.  He really helped, too."  He looked extremely pained as he said, "As I was gonna say, Star, I'm really sorry for almost-blowing up at you."

He  _seemed_  genuine.  He  _sounded_ genuine.   _And_  he  _also_  looked really kind of adorable, standing there, under the chandelier-light, looking all gawky and slightly constipated.  What could she say?  She was a sucker for the dorks (Marco-included).

She indulged him in a smile, albeit a small one.  "Nah, don't worry about it."  She  _almost_ added, "Keep that up and I _might_ not absolutely hate hanging out with you, anymore," but decided against it.  If he wanted her to throw him a bone, he would have to beg a little.  A  _little_  and  _only_  a little, because she wasn't some kind of sadist.

Suddenly, she looked up to meet Tom's eyes and without her permission, her gaze locked onto his.  Instantly, she was reminded of a certain dance with silver bells, and Star felt shivers creep up her spine.  Were his eyes always that  _red_?  So  _warm_?  So deliciously  _fiery_?  She couldn't remember.  It seemed that the chandeliers had dimmed and the only ones standing in the abandoned hallway was them and them alone ( . . . which it was.  All this time.  Hence, it being an 'abandoned hallway').

She immedietly forced herself to look away,  _quite_  aware of the faint blush clouding her cheeks.  She was aware of the similar situation on Tom's face, as well.   _What's happening_?   _What was that_?   _Why is this happening_?   _Am I sick_?   _I've gotta be sick, right_?   _Otherwise, that just wouldn't have happened . . . right_?   _Right_?  

It was all so very strange.  Star was sure, absolutely  _sure_  that she didn't have a crush on Tom.  Just like she was absolutely sure she didn't have a crush on Marco.  Just like she was 1,000% sure her heart belonged to Oskar, even though he went to the Heart's 'n' More Hearts Have a Happy Heart-iday Valentine's Day Dance with Jackie.

Yep, she had her love life  _totally_  figured out.

 . . . Totally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAMN, THAT WAS HELLA SUDDEN, NO? YEAH, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS LOWKEY-ENOUGH TO BE JUSTIFIED.
> 
> Okay, this is random as hell, but . . . I was listening to the "You'll Be Back" song from Hamilton (no, I've never watched it, but I heard this in APUSH and now am a total King George III fangirl), and damn, ol' Georgie sounds like a mega-hardcore version of the old Tom . . .


	13. Not A Chapter | Author's Note

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a chapter, guys. Things have happened and it impacts the future of this story. Sorry for the lack of updates, I kinda lost my interest in the series for awhile, but with the premiere of season 3, my interest has been rejuvenated and updates may be more frequent!

So ... guys.  The  _Star Vs. the Forces of Evil_ Season 3 bomb has finally ended.  I know not all of you have finished it, and that's totally fine, but please keep in mind, the rest of this note contains spoilers from the season.

If you guys haven't noticed, this story banks  _heavily_  on the fact that Star isn't with anyone yet and I like my stories to fall in line with canon, because otherwise, I get incredibly mixed up and can't write it.

Right now, Tom and Star are dating.  Keep in mind, I am a hardcore Tomstar shipper, but a realist at that, and  _I know_  that they will not, ever, ever,  _ever_  be endgame.  I totally understand the appeal of Starco and why it would be endgame and in writing this story, I wanted to challenge myself to write a story that would be realistic to the tale of  _SVtFoE_  while still getting my Tomstar fix.  So, as you can see, for this story, I haven't picked any endgame ship and I still haven'

But at least, for this narrative, the fact that Tom and Star are together ... complicates things.  This was supposed to be about Star having romantic endeavors with  _both_  guys and choosing one at the end.  If I continued to have hardcore romantic Starco moments as  _Torn_ is right now and follow the storyline (which I absolutely refuse not to do), it would not be fair to Tom, who I think is trying his best (despite his absolutely normal moment of relapse in  _Monster Bash_ ).  But I still want to do Starco  _and_ Tomstar.  But ... if I want to follow canon, I  _have_  to.  

I really don't want to continue  _Torn_  in following the canon storyline pre-Season 3, because I will have the weight of Season 3's antics looming over my head.  

Either way, I'm gonna do what I have to do to keep this story running, even if I really don't wanna.

Okay ... yeah, that was completely confusing. 

Anyways, so here's where you guys come in.  Tell me, what would you like to see happen?  Please vote for the following choices:  
  
\- Continue  _Torn_  as it is, with an original storyline that doesn't follow Season 3.  Consider that I  _really_ don't want to do this and updates will be even more sparse as they already have been.  Like, maybe ... thrice a year updates because writing motivation would be at an all-time low.

\- Keep this story up, but create a timeskip from where  _Torn_ left off to where  _SVtFoE_ is present-day.  Tom and Star are dating, but there is clear romantic tension between Marco and Star.  Both ships will be present.  I would update this quite often.  It would create some confusion between people who can only read the original  _Torn_  up to a certain extent, but hey, whatever you guys want, considering there would be a disclaimer of said incidents. Interactions between couples in  _Torn_  would be referenced in the new parts, so it would be a mash-up of Season 3  _SVtFoE_  and  _Torn_.

\- Delete all of the current edition of  _Torn_ (or keep it up as a separate story); create a new story entirely from scratch with Tomstar dating but Starco romantic tension.  I'd update this a lot, as well.  Would be similar to option 2, but with no mentions of things in  _Torn_ happening or they would be rewritten to fit the new storyline.  Both Tomstar and Starco would be present in equal amounts.  

So ... tell me what y'all think.    


End file.
